Many people take photographs with me and I don't know each of them, said Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik

In the photo, Sri Rama Sene chief is seen with a suspect in Gauri Lankesh murder case

Bengaluru:

Highlights

Pramod Muthalik said he did not know the Gauri Lankesh murder suspect

He said he did not know everyone who took photos with him

He had earlier admitted to knowing another accused in the murder case

A day after Pramod Muthalik, who heads the controversial right-wing group Sri Rama Sene, admitted to knowing an accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, a photograph showing him with another accused has surfaced.

In the photograph circulated over the social media, Pramod Muthalik is seen standing next to Parshuram Wagmare who was arrested from Sindhagi in Bijapur district of north Karnataka on Monday.

There is speculation that Parshuram Wagmare may have been the man who pulled the trigger on senior journalist Gauri Lankesh outside her Bengaluru home in September last year. His suspected role in the conspiracy is not being confirmed by the police as they say it would affect ongoing investigations.

"I don't know who Parshuram Wagmare is. Many people take selfies and photographs with me and I don't know everyone", Pramod Muthalik told reporters over the phone.

Earlier this year, the Sri Rama Sene chief, who was arrested for the attack on young boys and girls in a pub in Mangalore in 2009, was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Pramod Muthalik also finds a mention in a signed statement of Naveen Kumar, the other man arrested in connection with the murder. In a 12-page statement submitted in court by police who say it has been signed by Naveen, he mentions having met the Sri Rama Sene chief who asked him to build up the ideology of Hindu dharma in Maddur where Naveen lived. When Muthalik left the Bajrang Dal and formed the Sri Rama Sene, Naveen started a branch of the Sene in Maddur, according to the statement.

Pramod Muthalik and another man mentioned in the statement, Mohan Gowda, have told the media that they did indeed know Naveen but had no knowledge of the other conspirators or the plot to kill Gauri Lankesh.